Since Saturday, local Department of Children Service workers have removed a total of eight children from three different meth busts, and having to remove kids from meth homes has become a weekly occurrence.
Case workers say it’s extremely traumatic for the children as well as dangerous because of the toxic nature of meth making.
“We don't go home until we find the children have a bed," says Lucretia Sanders, regional administrator of Northeast TN DCS. She explains that an afternoon meth bust, can turn into a long night for a case worker.
“It's not uncommon for them to be out at 2 in the morning trying to get these children placed."
The first step for DCS is to decontaminate the kids and rush them to the ER.
“Question number one is ‘are the children symptomatic, do they have evidence of meth’,” says Dr. Bruce Gibbon in the ER at Bristol Regional Medical Center. “Do they have nausea, vomiting, skin burning? If not, then we try to be less invasive to the children, less aggressive, to not traumatize them."
But it's more than just meth symptoms, Dr. Gibbon must look at.
"Probably more importantly is to asses their social situation. So frequently there's neglect. They're not being fed. Their parents or care givers are more concerned about their drugs then they are their children,” says Gibbon of what local doctors are seeing.
Next, a case worker tries to find a familiar place for the child stay. That process usually takes 3 to 4 hours.
"Those people have to go through background checks, references, then there's actually a walk through of the home to make sure the home is appropriate there are several that are asked," says Sanders.
If no family member meets this criteria, the kids are placed with a foster parent.
After all this work, it's the emotional part of the bust that's toughest.
"They lose everything in a meth lab bust,” says Team Coordinator of DCS Pam Harr. “Everything is contaminated so they're not allowed to take their favorite toys, pets. We've had children cry for their pacifiers. It's very traumatic on the children."
Many of these kids end up having to be placed in foster care because they don't have family able to care for them.
As a result, DCS needs more foster families to help meet this growing need.
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